Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt suggested that “anti-LGBTQ+” laws passed by several states threaten military readiness and that these laws affected hiring and promotion decisions.
“Since January of this year, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced at the state level. That number is rising and demonstrates a trend that could be dangerous for service members, their families, and the readiness of the force as a whole,” Burt said last week during a Pentagon Pride Month event. When looking for potential candidates for military assignments at various locations in the country, “I strive to match the right person to the right job.”
Burt is the deputy chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, according to the U.S. Space Force website.
After considering a candidate’s job performance and relevant experience, Burt looks at “personal circumstances” while also considering the candidate’s family, she stated.
“If a good match for a job does not feel safe being themselves and performing at their highest potential at a given location or if their family could be denied critical health care due to the laws in that state, I am compelled to consider a different candidate and perhaps less qualified,” Burt said.
DeSantis War Room, the rapid response team for GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, slammed Burt’s comments in a June 16 tweet, calling it “shocking.”
“Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt admits the U.S. military discriminates against Floridians when considering promotions—leading to ‘less qualified’ officers—because @RonDeSantis banned trans surgeries for KIDS. DeSantis will end this woke insanity on Day One,” DeSantis War Room said.
On May 17, DeSantis signed a few bills into law aimed at protecting children from transgender ideologies, one of which outlawed transgender surgery and puberty blockers for minors.
“100 percent inappropriate @SpaceForceDoD,” Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and member of the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness, said about Burt’s comments in a June 7 tweet.
“And they wonder why so many of the people who typically join the military are taking a hard pass,” she added.
Burt’s comments come as the U.S. military has been under scrutiny for pushing a transgender agenda at its facilities.
In May, a group of 14 GOP senators sent a letter to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro seeking more information about the service’s “digital ambassador” program that ran from October 2022 to March this year. The Navy had invited Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, a drag performer, to participate in the program.
“Does the Navy endorse drag shows? Where does the Navy draw the line on promotion of the personal activities of its influencers? Would the Navy enlist burlesque or exotic dancers to reach possible recruits?” the senators wrote.
“Such activity is not appropriate for promotion in a professional workplace or the United States military.”
On June 1, the official Twitter account of the U.S. Navy posted an LGBT-themed banner depicting two warships and a fighter jet leaving the colors of the rainbow flag in their wake.
The feathers of the eagle icon the Navy uses in its Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pics were also altered to match the colors of the rainbow flag. However, the Navy soon removed the banners and the altered icon.
Concerned about the growing LGBT influence in the military, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced the “Ensuring Military Readiness Act” in February to regulate the service of transgender individuals in the military. Under the Biden administration, people identifying as transgenders or experiencing gender dysphoria can openly serve in the military.
“The military has strict standards for who can and cannot qualify to serve. For example, under President Biden, you can’t serve with a peanut allergy. Biden has turned our military into a woke social experiment,” Rubio said in a Feb. 16 press release.
“It is a stupid way to go about protecting our nation. We need to spend more time thinking about how to counter threats like China, Russia, and North Korea and less time thinking about pronouns.”